MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) -
Best Buy cut 400 jobs at the Richfield, Minn. headquarters on Tuesday and founder Richard Schulze had until Thursday to make a bid to buy the company – a busy week ahead of Friday morning's fourth-quarter earnings report.
Best Buy said its fourth-quarter loss narrowed as it cut costs with job cuts and restructuring to offset nearly flat holiday season sales.
Its loss after paying preferred dividends totaled $409 million ($1.21 per BBY share) for the three months ended Feb. 2. That compares with a loss of $1.82 billion, or $5.17 per share, in the prior-year quarter.
Those results beat expectations and shares rose more than 6 percent in premarket trading Friday. Excluding restructuring and other costs, adjusted earnings came to $1.64 per share. Analysts expected $1.54 per share.
Revenue was nearly flat at $16.71 billion. Analysts expected $16.29 billion.
BEST BUY'S Q4 EARNINGS: 3 THINGS TO WATCH
from John Vomhof Jr. of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal
1. BUYOUT BID: Sources said talks between Best Buy and Schulze ended after he and a group of private-equity investors sought three board seats in exchange for a minority stake in the company.
2. MORE CUTS: Best Buy said the 400 jobs were an "initial cut," so everyone will be listening for what's next: More job cuts? More store closures?
3. GOOD NEWS: Are there any signs that things are starting to turn around? Investors need something positive to grasp on to.
Read more from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal at http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2013/02/27/best-buy-q4-earnings-3-things-to-watch.html
The Associated Press contributed to this report
